There are several grounds in which an application for U.S. Citizenship can be denied. Those grounds upon which the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can deny an Application for U.S. Citizenship may include that:
- An applicant never deserved a U.S. green card from the onset or should never have been granted a lawful permanent resident status
- Since having obtained a U.S. green card, the applicant may have committed a crime that made him or her deportable from the country and or
- The eligibility criteria for U.S. citizenship was not met after all
Whether or Not You Earned a U.S. Green Card in the First Place
An application for U.S. citizenship gives the U.S. immigration authorities another opportunity to review and process the applicant’s file in its entirety. In some cases USCIS encounters times when an applicant did not deserve lawful permanent residence from the beginning. For instance, an applicant of an unmarried child of a U.S. citizen, who was in fact married when he or she immigrated to the U.S. The applicant, on the N400, application, unintentionally may have put down his or her actual marriage date. If USCIS finds out that the marriage date was before the applicant received his or her green card, it could very well ask further questions and ultimately place the applicant on removal proceedings. Once a green card is revoked an applicant does not have any more rights to U.S. citizenship.
What If An Applicant Did Something to Make Him or Her Removable From the U.S.
Beneficiaries of Green Cards are subject to grounds of deportability found in Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.) or 8 U.S.C. § 1227. For example an immigrant can become deportable for having committed certain crimes or immigration violations, engaged in subversive or terrorist activities or even failed to notify USCIS of a change of address within ten days of having moved to another location. Additionally, spending six months or more outside of the U.S. and then having returned to the U.S. can also make a lawful permanent resident subject to the grounds of inadmissibility upon their return. If during the application process for U.S. citizenship USCIS sees that an applicant is ineligible that person will then become removable and inadmissible upon entry to the U.S. If you find yourself in a situation where you may have done something that could jeopardize your legal status, talk to an immigration lawyer.
When to Talk to an Immigration Attorney
From the moment you intend to apply for U.S. citizenship through the process of naturalization visit with your local immigration lawyer. Starting the citizenship application process with the advice and assistance of an immigration law expert will save you time and stress. You will also be able to find out if you are eligible for U.S. citizenship. Contact Gambacorta Law Office at 1-847-786-2599.